Psychosocial Support for Humanitarian Aid Workers: A Roadmap of Trauma and Critical Incident Care

151 Pages·2018·2.54 MB·English

by  Fiona Dunkley

Psychosocial Support for
Humanitarian Aid Workers
Humanitarian aid workers are trying to make a difference in an increas-
ingly dangerous world. Psychosocial Support for Humanitarian Aid
Workers: A Roadmap of Trauma and Critical Incident Care highlights the
risks of such work, educates professionals responsible for their duty of
care, and brings together current thinking to promote collaborative
working to support the carers of our world.
From the humanitarian aid worker trying to organise support amongst
chaos, to the professional offering a safe place for recovery, all of these
individuals are at risk of becoming traumatised. Therefore, it is vital that
we recognise the psychological risks on these individuals, and that they
recognise how they can support themselves, so they can continue to func-
tion in the work that they do. This book can be used as a trauma awareness
guide for all staff whose work exposes them – directly or indirectly – to
trauma, and therefore becomes a risk to their physical or mental wellbeing.
Psychosocial Support for Humanitarian Aid Workers will appeal to all
those working in the field of humanitarian aid, counsellors and psycho-
therapists, emergency first responders, as well as those who are looking to
support themselves after surviving trauma.
Fiona Dunkley is a senior accredited MBACP Psychotherapist, Trauma
Specialist, Supervisor and Trainer. She is a member of EMDR, UKRCP
and ESTSS. Fiona founded FD Consultants, offering psychosocial support
and trauma specialist services for humanitarian aid organisations. She has
presented on ‘Good Morning Britain’ as a trauma expert, has published
several articles and has been asked to speak at various international
conferences.
‘Raising standards in psychosocial support for those working on human-
itarian response to crises and disaster is only just being recognised by
those organisations working in the field. This book is an essential and
timely contribution to understanding the need for such support as well
as providing a practical guide to establishing systems and approaches.
I would urge all those responsible for humanitarian aid workers and
indeed, for those responsible for staff or volunteers working in develop-
ment organisations, to read this book as a matter of urgency and to take on
board its recommendations.’
Philip Goodwin, Chief Executive, VSO International
‘As the lead in an organisation that works directly with the humanitarian
aid sector and sees first-hand the needs of these organisations, this book is
a must read.
Psychosocial Support for Humanitarian Aid Workers demonstrates that
there is no doubt that self-care and resilience form an essential part of
being prepared to undertake the very important work the humanitarian
sector do in caring for others. At the other end, Fiona’s detailed analysis
on the impact of trauma both on an individual and at an organisational
level shows it must be treated as the highest of priorities.’
Andrew Lewis, Nomad & TMB CEO
Psychosocial Support for
Humanitarian Aid Workers
A Roadmap of Trauma and Critical
Incident Care
Fiona Dunkley
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Fiona Dunkley
The right of Fiona Dunkley to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Dunkley, Fiona, author.
Title: Psychosocial support for humanitarian aid workers : a
roadmap of trauma and critical incident care / Fiona Dunkley.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2018. |
Includes bibliographical references.Identifiers: LCCN 2017058514|
ISBN 9781138707344 (hardback) | ISBN 9781351782050 (web) |
ISBN 9781351782043 (epub) | ISBN 9781351782036
(mobipocket)
Subjects: LCSH: Humanitarian assistance–Psychological aspects. |
Psychic trauma–Prevention. | Charities–Employees. | Nonprofit
organizations–Employees.
Classification: LCC HV553 .D86 2018 | DDC 363.34/80683–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017058514
ISBN: 978-1-138-70734-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-20145-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
I am dedicating this book to a friend of mine who died giving her life
to humanitarian aid work. She wasn’t supported to ‘listen’ to her
body when it was screaming at her to stop working, she couldn’t
‘internalise’ the voices of reason recommending that she needed to
take time out. Her vision to change the world blinded her to her own
self- care. And yet, her passion and work continues to make a
difference and her legacy remains to help others. May she rest in
peace.

Contents
Acknowledgements x
Preface xii
1 Introduction: the roadmap of psychological risk 1
Aid work: the curse of the strong 1
Organisational duty of care 5
Ripple effect of trauma 7
The changing face of aid work 10
The scars of wisdom 11
2 The physiology of trauma: the mechanics of trauma 13
What is trauma? 14
The survival response 15
How is the brain impacted by trauma? 15
Common trauma symptoms 19
3 Treating trauma: support vehicles of recovery 24
What are trauma specialist treatments? 24
EMDR: how does it work? 25
Case study 1 (EMDR) 26
TF- CBT: how does it work? 34
Case study 2 (TF-C BT) 35
viii Contents
4 Resilience toolkit: the first aid kit 40
Relaxation 41
Education 44
Social 46
Physical 49
Exercise 51
Creativity 52
Thinking 54
5 Psychosocial management of critical incidents: the
emergency route 56
Peter Moore: case study 58
Megan Nobert: case study 59
Organisational trauma 62
What psychological support should be available to staff after
a critical incident? 63
Appropriate timings of offering psychological support 72
Summary of early interventions 73
6 The complete package of care: the road most travelled 76
Pre- deployment psychosocial support 80
Psychosocial support during deployment 85
Post- deployment psychosocial support 86
The homecoming 88
Conclusion 91
7 Cultural relevance of psychosocial support: local
roadmaps 93
Culturally sensitive support 94
Cultural models of psychosocial support 95
Developing localised services or importing international
professionals 99
Supporting national staff 104
Conclusion 109
Contents ix
8 Conclusion: the complete trauma grab bag 111
Survival 111
Unresolved trauma leads to war 112
Post- traumatic growth 112
Final thoughts 115
Sources of help 117
References 124
Index 133